This bill adds a new section to chapter 18.71 RCW authorizing the Washington State Medical Commission to adopt rules that allow licensed practitioners to voluntarily and permanently relinquish licenses the commission issues. The relinquishment must be voluntary, cannot be used in lieu of discipline, and cannot be executed while the licensee is under investigation or subject to disciplinary action. Under the proposal relinquishment is expressly not an adverse action, is not reportable to disciplinary databases, the National Practitioner Data Bank, or other websites, and the licensee permanently gives up any property right in the license with no right to reinstatement or renewal. The change is a procedural one that establishes a voluntary surrender mechanism and grants rule‑making authority to the Medical Commission covering licenses issued under RCW chapters 18.71, 18.71A, 18.71B, 18.71C, and 18.71D. Affected parties include the Medical Commission and holders of those licenses. Important details are missing from the extracted text: the exact placement or section number within chapter 18.71 RCW, the specific procedures the commission must adopt (application forms, timelines, fees, notice, recordkeeping, or appeals), any effective or implementation dates, the precise scope of “other websites,” and whether relinquishment affects other statutory or regulatory obligations outside the commission’s reporting.

If enacted, the commission would be able to create a process that lets holders of the listed health care licenses voluntarily and permanently give up their license without that act being treated as a disciplinary action or reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, disciplinary databases, or other listed websites. People could use this route only if they are not under investigation or currently subject to discipline, and choosing it would permanently remove their property right in the license with no chance to reinstate or renew it. The biggest real-world effects fall on the Medical Commission, which will need to write and run the new rules, and on license holders under the cited chapters, who gain a non-disciplinary exit option but lose any future right to the license. The bill doesn’t say how the process will work, whether there will be fees, notice requirements, timelines, or an effective date, nor does it clarify whether employers or credentialing organizations must be notified, so those practical details and any costs or staffing needs for the commission remain uncertain.